Under His Watchful Eye.......
                 They Learn Together......
                               ...They Practice Together

                 ....Soon They Will Soar....Alone!!

     As I drove home one blustery afternoon my attention was drawn to what appeared to be numerous eagles gliding above the trees near the house.  Usually eagles are solitary and if ever seen with another, it is their mate.  Nonetheless I grabbed the camera and headed into the park to the north of our home to see if I could catch some images.  Typically, by the time I had arrived, they had departed.  I hung on thinking they might return......and soon they did.  I watched as they would soar together on the winds and use the currents to their advantage.  This repeated itself several times as I marveled, watched, and tried to get some sort of remarkable photo.  At one point there were thirteen birds in the air above me.  They were clearly eagles but they were not yet matured and probably very young ones at that.  It takes five years for the mature eagle to receive the white plumage that defines him as a Bald Eagle, our nations symbol.

     It wasn't until later when I was viewing and analyzing the pictures that I found a remarkable lesson.  Alone, seemingly a part of the juvenile eagles, but soaring above them, was a mature male.  He was watching as these young birds prepared for their future.  They were learning to navigate the currents as well as building up their strength to fly into winds that opposed them. They were preparing to fly great distances and learn to be aloft for hours as they would soon migrate north during the summer as well as learning how to use the currents for their benefit in conserving energy and hunting for food in the vast land below them. 

     I soon found myself reflecting on those young "Armadillo's" I had such a great time with.  I remembered many of the crazy times and their quirky personalities.  Their visits to hang out, mooch food, or even just see what was going on with me.   They even thought they drove me crazy...not knowing fully that I was half way there anyway. 

      They are now past my watchful eye and I am left to ponder if my lessons to them were as meaningful as I hoped.  They probably aren't  graceful eagles (yet) but they have that place in my heart and for that I remember and love them.  I hope they are doing well!!

Rendezvous Will Never be the Same....

                  .....But Then Again.....It Never Is!!

     In two weeks Rendezvous will be saddened to lose our beloved director (soon to be called the coordinator), Sister Lowe.  She has come to the end of her service here and will be returning to her home in Tennessee.  Her spirit, optimism, physical infirmities(Sight and hearing...LOL😅), and testimony will be missed.  She is our biggest fan and laughs the loudest when we do well or foul up.  She has raised the bar for Rendzvous and we are all better individually and collectively for knowing her and being able to associated with her and grow from her vast experience and personality.

     On Saturday she and her husband took the stage and did the "Thomas and Elizabeth" vignette....and they were spectacular.  It's no wonder.....they have raised their family in the gospel and as stage performers as well....no easy task.  Sister Gibson recently received a text from her dear friend Carol Bengtzen telling her that their Relief Society instructor's parents were serving in Nauvoo...her name....Kendra Lowe......it's a small world.

To get to know more about them them visit http://www.thelowefamily.com  We have been truly blessed to have Sister Lowe...especially me....after all she picked me as the "Editor" so I didn't need to sing so much and I can talk alot.  I don't think she understands that I understand music as well as she understands Chinese symbols for reading.

     Replacing Sister Lowe will be my sister Gayle's childhood friend, Sister Nancy Moench.....I caught a picture of her opening her call to be the new director....Doesn't she look excited?  Actually she is shown here as "Agatha" who is constantly "guiding and bossing" her husband, George around while trying to make improvements to my newspaper, the Nauvoo Neighbor........unfortunately her many suggestions require more paper than we presently have in our supply!!  I hope she gets over it soon.

                

The Drink Man Cometh.......

     We didn't see much of this "Saint" as we arrived in October and the weather was changing...soon we were at FM.  Starting a couple of weeks ago he again began appearing on the streets of "Old Nauvoo" with a truck full of drinks and goodies.  

     He willingly does this weekly and bares the full load of expense.  He will not take any help and if you ever are so rash as to say "Thank You" he corrects you....and says "No....Thank You!!" Only when you respond with "God Bless You" do you receive a warm smile of gratitude.  He is indeed and angel!!  

          .......God Bless Him!!
    
Elder Sims is Granted a Golden Ticket
                                   .......And he Accepts!!

     Normally I wouldn't make any note of  someone accepting a "Golden Ticket".  In Elder Sims case I will make an exception.  He is truly a priceless wonder for the ages and the more I work with him the more I appreciate him.  He is truly a humble man but is very, very, defined in the ways he does things and wants them done.  Part of this comes from enjoying a small town life in Furth, Id. with a little more freedom to do things than is afforded in the larger cities and part comes from an inborn stubbornness...sound familiar?  He had made it abundantly clear to me that he would never accept the "golden ticket" because of his  inadequacies.  In fact he had previously declined the invitation from the prior mission counselor in charge of ticket distribution. 

     So when Elder Purcell showed up  at the Schenck house looking for Elder Sims I quickly grabbed the phone (camera) to catch the moment....and then ran for cover not wanting to hear the ensuing conversation.  Returning later and asking how it went Elder Sims sheepishly replied...."I took it". He explained it was to teach Priesthood Meeting.    Inquisitively I asked "Why?".  "Well", he said...."You told me if I ever took a ticket you would stand up there right beside me to help"  ....and I will, if he wants!!

Farewell........

                  ......and Welcome to Nauvoo

     Friday morning brought another one of those bittersweet moments as we assembled for a mission "Farewell Breakfast".  We say good bye to E/S Lowe, E/S Lee Master (they really won't leave until the middle of April....they didn't want to do the farewell breakfast alone....who could blame them), E/S Swain, and our  doctor and his wife E/S Rassmussen.
    Replacing them will be 9 new couples.  Folks around here feel like they have been fighting a battle with diminished resources (few in number....not mental capacities) and by the end of the month we will have added another group of 18 (8 Single Sisters, and 5 couples).  It's going to be a welcome change for those who will be working on the sites as they will again be able to have varied schedules.
     I wanted to add a picture but none was available....so I looked at using the picture of the 2000 Stripling Warriors....but no one had updated it to reflect 65-80 year olds carrying brooms, canes, and garbage can lids, wearing hearing aids, with grey hair while following an old guy on a horse.  So you'll just have to use your imagination.!!

A Beautiful Weekend ......

                  .....Takes us to the Amana Colonies
  

     We were invited by Elder and Sister Hacking to join them on a trip to the Amana Colonies since he was interested in purchasing a hat he liked that several of the other Elders wore.  He explained that it was an Amish Community and they liked to feed groups on the weekends in the barn.  Sounded fun since it wouldn't involve shopping.  Lesson learned: Don't speak until you know the full details...it did end up with shopping!!  Now don't get me wrong...it would be ok and the trip would go fine...but it did include the inevitable shopping experience.

Feeling safe from shopping I told them that the Lindeburgs would probably like to go and they had a mini-van that would fit us all.  Great.....and then the details emerged.....The Amana Colonies are not Amish....they are religious refugees that came from Germany and settled in Iowa and started a communal living group that became totally self sufficient relying on their own skills to survive on and protect them and their children from the outside world.  It worked until 1930 or so when an explosion destroyed a portion of their production facilities and they had neither insurance or a way to rebuild.  They established the Amana Society, a profit sharing enterprise, and encouraged free enterprise.  Their religion remained intact and the villages remain as historic sites visited annually by hundreds of thousands. 

     That meant there were shops......lots of shops and even worse our travels would take us within a few miles of the Costco in Iowa City......."oh my heart" ......what had I done??  Would we even get to see the  Amana Colonies?  Of course we would and we would eat.....but Costco.....my heart skipped beats and pounded like a drum as I would be forced to explain to the Hackings what may happen with Sister Lindeburg and shopping.  They were in anyway....so away we went.

     Well, it turned out just fine.  We saw the sights, visited the shops, bought a hat and backscratcher, ate lunch and a non-authentic German restaurant.  The waitress didn't even know what  "Koendel or rotkraut" was.  They didn't even have kartoffelsalat (potato salad). We saw some of the colony and museum and even got in and out of Costco within the 30 minute time limit that was set.......WHEW!!

     We returned to Nauvoo in time to perform at Rendezvous for a couple of visitors and a raft of new missionaries........I remember their feeling......on the outside you are smiling in spite of the glazed looks in the eyes.  And now.....seeing the show and what goes one......you say to yourself "NOT ME....I don't do that stuff".  Surprise.......you will!!